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The Animal Kingdom's Top Marathoners

Compared to other land mammals, humans are remarkably good at running long distances. But there is plenty of competition out therenature is full of species adapted for running distance. Here's a look at six of the best marathoners in the animal king

Compared to other land mammals, humans are remarkably good at running long distances. Our upright posture and ability to shed heat—through sweating—are what allow people to run more than 20 miles during a race. Very few other animals can sustain such distances, especially at the speeds that top human athletes perform. But there is plenty of competition out there—nature is full of species adapted for running distance. Here's a look at six of the best marathoners in the animal kingdom, from slowest to fastest.

1 of 6

Horses

Max Speed:

54 mph

Average Speed for 20+ miles:

10.5 mph

Estimated Marathon Time:

2.5 Hours

Through years of selective breeding, racehorses have gained a built-in biological mechanism for efficient blood—the kind that certain human athletes can only achieve by doping. "When they start to exercise, their spleen will kick out a whole bunch of red bloods cells into their system, into their cardiovascular system to make the oxygen carrying capacity of their blood go up," says Peter Weyand, professor of physiology and biomechanics at Southern Methodist University. Human blood dopers transfuse blood before a race to achieve an increased aerobic capacity. However, the horse naturally release blood cells moments after starting to a gallop.

For the last 30 years, the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells has hoted a 22-mile, man-versus-horse race. Humans have only won the race twice, but top runners usually only finish 10 minutes after the animals. Where horses exceed in oxygen efficiency, humans make up for in temperature regulation. In the beginning of the race the horses tend to have a 30 minute lead, but toward the end, that advantaged is cut to a couple of minutes. Over the course of the race, humans are more efficient at expelling heat—not to mention they aren't running with a rider on their back. On a hot day, humans can win much more easily.

2 of 6

Humans

Max Speed:

27.45 mph (Usain Bolt, 100 meters)

Average Speed for 20+ Miles:

12.7 mph (Haile Gebrselassie)

Best Marathon Time:

2:03:59 (Haile Gebrselassie, Berlin)

Are humans born to run? Some experts think that humans have, indeed, evolved to be distance runners—the better to track prey, evade predators and migrate. While there is some debate on running and human evolution, there is no question that we are up there in the animal kingdom for speeds at marathon distances. There is no one reason, but the efficiency of our cooling systems—our ability to sweat—and having an upright posture, to minimize our sun exposure and maximize our lung capacity, are some of the primary reasons we are skilled distance runners.

One major difference between humans and animals is that we don't have in-born endurance; we have to train. Peter Weyand says that compared to other animals, humans have a high energy cost of running—we spend more energy in each stride relative to our size. But unlike wild animals, we can motivate ourselves to run, and through training we can increase our aerobic scope—the amount of aerobic activity one can achieve. "Even though [humans] are good at regulating heat, they have more heat to dump because their economy is poor," he says. Strict training regimens and the ability to sweat can make up for that lack.

3 of 6

Sled Dogs

Max speed:

Collectively, they pull a sled 25 mph

Average Speed for 20+ miles:

15 mph

Estimated Marathon Time:

1 hour 19 minutes

Each year, during the Iditarod, packs of 12 sleigh dogs travel more than 1000 miles in 15 days. The animals working together pull the sled at speeds around 15 mph for up to six hours at a time. If running a marathon, Alaskan Huskies would cross the finish line in less than an hour and a half. Compared to the greyhound, which can sprint up to 45 miles per hour, the huskies are trained for distance and need to eat 10,000 calories per day during racing to generate the energy to run.

4 of 6

Camels

Max speed:

40 mph

Average speed for 20+ miles:

25 miles per hour

Estimate Marathon Time:

1 hour 2 minutes

An essential part of running long distance is keeping hydrated. Unlike the New York City marathon, there are no Gatorade check points in the desert. Instead, camels have evolved to store days worth of fat in their humps. Additionally, camels drop their body temperature in the morning, which prolongs their ability to run—and at 25 mph, they are sprinting by human standards—in hot sunlight.

5 of 6

Pronghorn Antelope

Max Speed:

55 mph

Best/Average Speed for 20+ Miles:

30 mph

Estimate Marathon Time:

45 minutes

Speed and stamina do not always go together. For example, the Cheetah, the fastest animal on the planet, can only sustain its top speed of 70 mph for approximately 700 yards. Pronghorn Antelopes, on the other hand, can maintain speeds of 60 mph for miles at a time. "If the Cheetah and pronghorn were running side by side, and if the track was longer than a quarter of a mile, the pronghorn would win it, no contest," Carmi Penny, director of collections at the San Diego zoo says. While cheetahs have flexible spines which allow their legs to spend more time pushing off the ground, antelopes have long thin limbs that allow them to run both fast and economically. These legs, paired with tremendous aerobic capacity, are what allow the antelopes to outrun most predators. When you get to long distances, the antelopes can sustain 30 mph for about an hour.

6 of 6

Ostrich

Max Speed:

50 mph

Average Speed for 20+ miles:

30 mph

Estimated Marathon Time:

45 minutes

Ostriches' long legs are mainly made up of tendon, which allow them to maintain high speeds for longer periods of time. "Every time they land on a foot, it stretches [the tendon, which] recoils back to pop them back up into the air," Peter Weyand says. "It works almost like a pogo stick." Once the bird gets up to speed, this spring-like action pops the leg off the ground with every step, which allows it to maintain its forward momentum. The actual leg muscle is located closer to the body of the bird, which also makes the leg lighter. An Ostrich would finish a marathon in about 45 minutes.

The Bottom Line

Humans are going to need a lot more training before they can hang with an ostrich or pronghorn antelope, the distance winners in the animal kingdom.

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